Family can spend first Christmas at home with tiny premature son in festive miracle
A little boy born nine weeks early is spending his first Christmas at home – with his family calling it the “best present we could possibly wish for”.
Chellsy Manning, 36, gave birth to son Isaac Manning-Young in February – nine weeks before his due date and weighing just 3lbs 1oz.
The tot, from Southend, Essex, was seriously ill with a number of complex conditions due to being born so early.
The family went through countless hospital stays and transfers in the first few months of Isaac’s life.
Isaac also underwent a surgery to repair a double hernia at five months – adding more stress to the lives of Chellsy and her partner, Simon Young, 34, a product development manager.
Against the odds, resilient Isaac is now home in time for his first Christmas.
Chellsy, a stay-at-home mum, said: “Every day, he surprises us with his strength.
“We feel deeply grateful for the support we received along the way, which helped us get to this point.
“We are so excited about spending Christmas together as a family.”
Isaac’s tough start in life began when mum Chellsy was admitted to hospital for severe pre-eclampsia when she was 29 weeks pregnant.
Concerned doctors quickly transferred her to Broomfield Hospital, where Isaac was delivered three days later.
Tiny Isaac was immediately taken to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Over the next year, the family would undergo countless hospital stays and transfers.
They were supported throughout by The Sick Children’s Trust – a charity providing support to families of seriously ill children.
Throughout Isaac’s intense medical journey, his family were fortunate enough to be given accommodation in two of the charity’s “homes from home”.
This gave them a comfortable and private space close to the hospitals where Isaac was being treated.
Chellsy said: “Looking back, we genuinely don’t know how we would have managed without The Sick Children’s Trust.
“They gave us a stable, supportive environment where we could be present for Isaac, even when everything felt out of control, which was crucial for our mental wellbeing.
“We were helped by the charity twice during Isaac’s first weeks of life and we will forever be grateful to them”.
With Isaac doing well and as resilient as ever, the family is now looking forward to their first Christmas together.
Chellsy said: “We know there are far more babies out there that have had worse journeys than Isaac.
“Without The Sick Children’s Trust, god knows what we would have done.
“I cannot put it into words about how incredibly grateful and happy we both are about celebrating his first Christmas, especially the fact that he is healthy.”
She added: “It is the best present we could possibly wish for.”
Gay man who spent $125K to become a dad shares life update
A gay single dad who spent $125k to “fulfil” his dream of having a baby has found love and plans to have a second child.
Matt Bonnen, 32, had always dreamed of being a parent and when his relationship of four years broke down he worried it wouldn’t be possible.
But after a cancer scare and losing his brother, Christopher, 31, in a drowning accident, Matt realized life was too short and decided to go it alone.
Matt found a surrogate – a 30-year-old woman – and she fell pregnant in February 2023.
He witnessed the birth of his son, Noah Christopher, now 14 months old, on October 14, 2023, and feels so “grateful” to have him.
Matt has since found love with a new partner, but doesn’t regret doing it by himself – saying it’s the “best decision” he’s ever made – and he plans to give Noah a sibling in the not too distant future.
Matt, who owns a restoration company, and lives between Miami, Florida and New York, US, said: “He’s so big. He’s 14 months old now and walking and talking.
“I want to invest in my happiness.
“Noah was so wanted. I feel that is beautiful.
“It’s the best decision I have made.”
Although Noah has been a “huge joy” for Matt, the dad-of-one says he’s been having “health problems” since June.
“I’m taking time off from work,” he said.
“It’s been really, really difficult. I have kidney failure, so I’m on dialysis as we speak.”
Since Noah’s arrival, Matt has found love with Thomas Bloecker – a TikToker and real estate agent.
“Once I get all this situated with my transplant, then I’ll have another kid,” Matt said.
“We’re going to do the surrogate option.
“I already have embryos created and am going to do it with my sperm and then, hopefully in the next couple of years, Thomas can have his own embryos and we could expand the family.”
Matt always wanted to be a dad, but when his long-term relationship of four years fell apart, he almost lost hope.
He began researching agencies to assist with surrogacy and selected an egg donor who shared similar physical characteristics with him.
After an initial unsuccessful attempt, Matt learned in February 2023 that his surrogate was expecting.
He was able to attend all the scans, either in person or via FaceTime.
“All my life I had this idea of having a family,” he said at the time.
“I played with Barbie and made them have kids. I always aspired to be a parent.
“I thought ‘why can’t I do this by myself?’.
“Why do you have to wait for someone else to fulfil your dream?”
In December 2018, Matt was unexpectedly diagnosed with astroblastoma — a rare brain tumor — but underwent surgery to have it removed that same month.
“Three years later when I was ready – I knew I wanted to be a parent,” he said.
“I didn’t find another person but I thought ‘I think I can do this by myself’.
“I was missing that one thing.”
Before donating his sperm, Matt underwent six months of psychological testing to ensure he was “fit to be a parent.”
After choosing an egg donor that looked similar to him, he knew he was on his way.
“It’s like a catalogue,” he explained.
“I felt most comfortable with how my family looks.”
The agency froze eight embryos, and Matt selected a surrogate through them to carry his child.
After some initial struggles with the pregnancy — which “devastated” him — Matt received good news he would become a father and stayed along for the whole journey.
“It was amazing,” he said of Noah’s birth.
“It was a beautiful experience. As soon as he came out I saw myself in him.”
Care home gets special Christmas visit from alpacas dressed as reindeer
Alpacas dressed as reindeer have been bringing Christmas joy to care home residents in animal therapy sessions.
Alpacas Luke and King Kong received a warm welcome earlier this month after paying a special visit to residents of Grange Court Care Home, in Baildon, West Yorkshire.
The visit came following an invite from the home’s activities coordinator Sue Sroka, 50.
Sue said: “They came dressed up with antlers on, the residents couldn’t believe an alpaca had walked through the door.
“Their faces lit up with joy, everyone had a stroke of their necks, they felt very soft. The staff and residents all thoroughly enjoyed their visit.
“It was good for everyone, but particularly those living with dementia.
“One of the residents reminisced about being brought up on a farm and having horses, it helped her remember things that perhaps she hadn’t thought about for years.”
The former radiotherapist – who has been working in care homes for six years – added: “I’ve always enjoyed working with people and looking after people.
“It’s a brilliant job, and it’s really good satisfaction.
“At the end of the day, when you’ve made people smile – even if someone with dementia has just remembered something for 10 minutes – it’s just lovely.
“It’s just lovely making people smile and happy.”
Danielle Knowd, 40, set up AlTreka – a family-run alpaca trekking centre – four years ago.
The company offers alpaca treks at the weekend and undertakes alpaca therapy visits during the week.
Danielle said: “Animal therapy is good for all sorts of people, the residents at the care home were following them around in the corridors.
“Animals can make a big impact on people’s lives.”
She added: “The treks – which are a full hour’s walk – fund the animals that we rescue.
“We have a total of 70 animals – 10 alpacas, one llama, as well as sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, cats and dogs.”
